How many of you have walked into a serious role play to find nothing but advanced players with short novels for posts and have felt so intimidated by those posts that you don't bother reading the storyline, instead fleeing to find a smaller RP? How many of you wish you could write posts that are long with detail enough for others to bounce off of?
If you're not one of the people I'm talking about, don't bother reading this. After all, many believe that longer posts with added detail are nothing but senseless fluff. Some of you believe that a one liner
(definition of one liner: a single line of text that stretches across the screen of the computer) is enough to compensate for a post.
But I'm not one of those people. When I post, I post
detail. If I can't feel the character enough to give a decent post, nine times out of ten, I will wait to try again later (unless I'm playing a live RP, which then requires me to switch characters).
So, for those of you that are tired of one liners, here's how I'll break it down.
First, I'll give you a basic sentence:
She sits on a bench.Simple, short, and.....
BORING! We don't want to see posts like these in a serious role play. There is so much more to post here. Where is this bench? What is around her? Perhaps something about what she wears.The sights, the smells, the sounds. All of it has to be put down.
So, with all of these new details, we get a slightly larger post:
She sits on a bench deep in Central Park, basking in the warmth of the Autumn sun as the breeze tickles her cheek. The thick jacket and knitted scarf allows her to keep most of the nippy chill out, though her work-required slacks do little to save her legs. The trees are slowly turning to the bright, fiery colors of Fall, and leaves have fallen everywhere despite the efforts of clean up crews. Still, many walk along the paths, and some even ride their bikes. In the distance, the horns of thousands of cars can be heard within the city. Conversations all around are loud and somewhat obnoxious, but because this day is good, no fights have yet to break out in the area. The air smells fresh around this bench, cool and calm, allowing her to relax just a little more.See the difference already? Now some of you must be afraid at this point. But I assure you, this task becomes easy as you practice. But there is more to add. We have the basics down. This provides good structure. But what about how she feels, where she came from, why she is here, etc.? This is all very important as well.
So, when writing more, we get something like this:
She sits on a bench deep in Central Park, basking in the warmth of the Autumn sun as the breeze tickles her cheek. The thick jacket and knitted scarf allows her to keep most of the nippy chill out, though her work-required slacks do little to save her legs. The trees are slowly turning to the bright, fiery colors of Fall, and leaves have fallen everywhere despite the efforts of clean up crews. Still, many walk along the paths, and some even ride their bikes. In the distance, the horns of thousands of cars can be heard within the city. Conversations all around are loud and somewhat obnoxious, but because this day is good, no fights have yet to break out in the area. The air smells fresh around this bench, cool and calm, allowing her to relax just a little more. Central Park is a safe haven compared to the looming structure of the Hancock Tower and the cramped spaces of her tiny office. Though her break is short, the risk of punishment for her being late is worth taking a few moments of refuge within this area. She gives a small smile, looking about the area as her ears continue to take in sounds. The laughter of children takes her back to the more fond memories of her own childhood when she would spend hours in the area playing in the leaves with her father. This memory allows her smile to grow just a bit more as the warm rush of happiness slides through her.Getting long, isn't it? But again, we're not done. If we leave the post here, all it is is senseless fluff. Nothing to really respond to. The biggest thing anyone must keep in mind is
ACTION. Without an action, a post has no meaning. No reason to be there. So, we have to add that. So, let's say...she's a lycanthrope. A were of sorts. What kind of action would an RP like that require?
Perhaps something like this:
She sits on a bench deep in Central Park, basking in the warmth of the Autumn sun as the breeze tickles her cheek. The thick jacket and knitted scarf allows her to keep most of the nippy chill out, though her work-required slacks do little to save her legs. The trees are slowly turning to the bright, fiery colors of Fall, and leaves have fallen everywhere despite the efforts of clean up crews. Still, many walk along the paths, and some even ride their bikes. In the distance, the horns of thousands of cars can be heard within the city. Conversations all around are loud and somewhat obnoxious, but because this day is good, no fights have yet to break out in the area. The air smells fresh around this bench, cool and calm, allowing her to relax just a little more. Central Park is a safe haven compared to the looming structure of the Hancock Tower and the cramped spaces of her tiny office. Though her break is short, the risk of punishment for her being late is worth taking a few moments of refuge within this area. She gives a small smile, looking about the area as her ears continue to take in sounds. The laughter of children takes her back to the more fond memories of her own childhood when she would spend hours in the area playing in the leaves with her father. This memory allows her smile to grow just a bit more as the warm rush of happiness slides through her. But that happiness is quickly halted by the pure scent of fur beneath flesh. The musky aroma that can only mean one thing: lycanthrope. And not just any, but her Chang. Her alpha. As her nose picks up the smell, she turns her head and stands, spreading her senses to touch that of her queen, quickly realizing that there are two others with the female. Blue eyes rise to look at the human form of her Chang, taking in the fiery red hair and long legs, the glowing amber eyes that is undeniably wolf. Then, slowly, they wander across the male guards, both standing nearly a foot taller than herself with broad shoulders and faces twisted as if they have just smelled something disgusting. One is wolf, a part of the pack. The other is a cat of some kind, possibly jaguar. As her queen comes closer, she bows her head in greeting, keeping her actions submissive. Were she in her other form, her body would be low, her tail out, showing submission but not weakness. "Good day," she says respectfully, seating herself back on the bench just after the redheaded woman offers. Perhaps she'll have to call in sick. There's no telling what the Chang wants this time.And there we have it, a long, detailed post filled with fluff and love. Perhaps some of you do not like it and thus will never read it. But for those of you who will, I hope this short tutorial has been helpful in some way to show exactly how much can be accomplished just from one tiny sentence. I could have added more, or I could have taken some out. Always remember when you write these posts that there is a fine line between "
Too little" and "
Too much." And remember one thing, always.
PRACTICE! No one starts with posts like these. It takes time. Try role playing with more advanced writers. The more advanced, the more you will learn.
A How To inspired by Mowkie's Mother, the ultimate RPer. Thank you!
Topic: GAH! Not One Liners! - A Guide to Writing Bigger Posts (Read 1654 times)